Abstract

Elasmobranchs comprising sharks, skates, guitarfishes and rays have attracted
increased attention in recent years both from research and conservation points of view. The
Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute has been collecting landing statistics and making
estimates of production for the past five decades. Besides, the Institute has also been collecting
data on biological characteristics of some species from selected landing centres. However,
the knowledge on these resources has not so far been consolidated, mainly owing to lack of
adequate information on individual species contributing to the fishery and the various aspects
of their biology. Globally, however, increased concerns are expressed on the sustainability of
the elasmobranch fisheries while some countries have even harmed the exploitation of certain
species. It was therefore felt desirable first to consolidate the data and knowledge available
from the Indian EEZ on the status of elasmobranch fishery so that suitable action plans
could be formulated for research, development and conservation. This process was initiated
about two years ago and now we are ready with the results of the voluminous data processed
and consolidated